Season Tickets

[Alex MacLeod]

Many clubs have many great ideas. Maybe the best idea would be for clubs to get together from time to time and share their ideas. This was something that the offshore safety reps do on a regular basis. They meet up with other industry safety reps a few times a year to share best practise.

[alwaysblue]

now is the time to get behind football - we may have a lighter /different squad but none of us know how the season will go - none of us are glory hunters -support the team- forget the politics- get your season ticket for the right reasons

[gordieict]

Reporting in courier today that season ticket sales down £75,000 on this time last season that's 300 down on actual tickets sold.

[Renegade]

That's what happens when you play boring football.

[old caley girl]

That's what

happens when you play boring football.

It isnt going to get better anytime soon if the club has no money from folk not buying season tickets!

Edited July 17, 2012 by old caley girl

[Laurence]

I suspect that a good few loyal and long time fans are losing their zeal for the club

It's a shame really, as a newcomer to the area I really tried to get involved.

I took my daughter to a game her first game in Scotland, she was very disapointed not just with the standard of play, but with the quiteness of the supporters.

The St Mirren fans sang " when the Saits" throughout the whole match, and totally drowned the home support.

On leaving the ground, a normally quiet girl said at the top of her voice "a waste of £25 ".

Anyway I have decided to buy a ticket whether I will use it , is another thing.

I have always supported the local side wherever I have lived.

Just get the fans singing.

[gordieict]

That's what

happens when you play boring football.

It isnt going to get better anytime soon if the club has not money from folk not buying season tickets!

I think you can play attractive football without spending a fortune on players, no question a lot of folk have been turned of by the style of football played last season

[Tichy_Blacks_Back]

Link to the article from today's courier referenced in gordieict's post above states potential shortfall of 400K for drop in gate receipts and TV money and as he said a drop in sales from 300 season tickets....

http://www.inverness-courier.co.uk/News/ICT-could-lose-400000-17072012.htm

[Proctor]

I think the shortfall is a combination of the recession and last year's standard of play. It's a shame but its just part and parcel of the times we live in at the moment. I renewed my ticket dispite knowing full well I will miss a lot of games but I can sympathise with families etc struggling to pay for tickets. I'm lucky that I am a young student.

I still refuse to believe the "rumours" about the TV deal as there has been nothing to suggest what will happen.

Edited July 17, 2012 by Proctor

[Tichy_Blacks_Back]

The club has announced that season tickets for last season's seats can be renewed up to today and after that they will go on general public sale - this makes me think that there are actually a lot of people who have not renewed their season tickets or why bother with such an offer.... http://ictfc.com/new...chance-saturday

After all the noise that was made about people not supporting the club via season ticket sales because of the Rangers SPL debacle I am curious to know where the club is now with ticket sales against last years numbers and how many more have actually been sold since the announcement of a 'No' vote to Rangers in the SPL.

One club that don't seem to be having a problem with ticket sales are our friends across the bridge who have already broken their season ticket record that they set last year.

So back to the original query what is our average season ticket sales and what % of a drop is 300 season tickets (10%, 20%....)?

I saw an aricle from 2005-6 when we moved home from Pittodrie and in that we had surpassed the 1500 mark but I suspect the actual average sales might be 2000+ in which case it is a drop of about 15%.

Is there any data available on our average sales and those of the other SPL clubs year on year?

[Yngwie]

After the p1sh that was served up for most of last season I cannot blame people for not renewing their season tickets.

What disappoints me though is the clear implication that many fans contacted the Board and said they would only renew if we voted "no" to Rangers in the SPL, but then failed to keep their side of the bargain.

[gordieict]

After the p1sh that was served up for most of last season I cannot blame people for not renewing their season tickets.

What disappoints me though is the clear implication that many fans contacted the Board and said they would only renew if we voted "no" to Rangers in the SPL, but then failed to keep their side of the bargain.

I think one of the main worries is any "bounce" in season ticket sales would surely have come when the club did as the fans requested, without any inspiring signings (I do understand why) and if anything a weaker looking squad than last season I don't expect there will be a dramatic uptake before that start of the season

[Croylo]

what yngwie said, if you pressured Kenny Cameron than put your money where your mouth is, otherwise he has no reason to believe you the next time you stamp your feet. I wasn't happy with his statement beause it looked like he was trying to pave the way for a spl u-turn, happily this is not the case and i do not grudge the club my Season Ticket money even though I will only make a handfull of games.

[RiG]

I worked out that I miss somewhere between 4 - 6 Home games a season due to work, games being called off due to the weather and being rearranged to times I can't make and games being reschedule for TV meaning I can't make it through.

MIssing that number of games just doesn't give the season ticket enough value for money for me. I'll just pay at the gate and go to a couple more away games instead.

[Libero]

I worked out that I miss somewhere between 4 - 6 Home games a season due to work, games being called off due to the weather and being rearranged to times I can't make and games being reschedule for TV meaning I can't make it through.

MIssing that number of games just doesn't give the season ticket enough value for money for me. I'll just pay at the gate and go to a couple more away games instead.

Its been a long time since I could honestly say that season tickets were value for money in the Scottish Football. Ticket prices in Scotland generally do not represent value for money due to the nature of our game (long ball games with little entertainment, over reliance on physicality, lacking in skill, flair or atmosphere)

IMO entertaining games are free flowing, attacking, atmospheric, dramatic and noisy games and if they were more frequent then tickets may become better value for money and we may have more fans attending games. Sadly the days of these appear to be long gone

[Huisdean]

Don't know what percentage a 300 drop in season tickets is but I would have expected maybe a 5% drop due to recession/unhappiness of some supporters over how we played last season but if the drop is more than 5%, you seriously have to question whether Inverness wants or indeed deserves an SPL team.

Not every team plays like Barcelona week in week out and is the product any worse than 30 odd years ago when the product was so bad, the Premier League was born!. Personally, I blame a lot of the problem on overcoaching, players cannot seem to think for themselves now and be individual as that isn't what the coacg wants. If season ticket sales continue to drop like this, and this isn't recovered from an increase in pay at the gate fans, I do worry for our future.

[+Tree]

So we do not wish to be dependant on income from Newco and it appears that the club cannot be dependant on income from fans.

Who are we to be dependant on? Perhaps a loan from the Bank of Integrity?

[SMEE]

Not every team plays like Barcelona week in week out and is the product any worse than 30 odd years ago when the product was so bad, the Premier League was born!.

30 years ago...I was reguarly attending Caley games in the Highland League. It may have been a mickey mouse standard but al tell you this.....i was ENTERTAINED week in week out. I cant say that about football in Scotland these days......Last time i felt the same, was under Pele Paterson....win lose or draw, at least i left feeling i had my moneys worth. And that is a major thing for me, especially when times are economically difficult.

Im deadly serious when i say this....Id rather ICT were a mid table, part Time Second Division team, who played entertaining football, than be an spl team and see the PISH that was served up the majority of the times i saw them last season

Edited July 17, 2012 by SMEE

[Murchison]

There is more to putting your money where your mouth is than buying a season ticket. I used to attend games fairly regularly from West Lothian, and barely missed a game at Pittodrie, but due changes to family and work don't think i've been to a home game in about 3 years. This season I have joined the site player sponsorship, will be buying my sons first ICT strip, will probably get one myself, and will commit to attending as many home games as possible instead of going away.

There is more to supporting the club than season tickets, especially for people who arn't in a position to get one. I applaud anyone who is getting one without being able to get to all the games, but not everyone is capable of doing this. Doesn't make them less of a fan.

[Renegade]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, "winning football" or the current style of playing not to get beat, does not put people through the gates. Attacking, entertaining football with will and passion, does.

Edited July 17, 2012 by Renegade

[Tichy_Blacks_Back]

I can understand both sides of this arguement. Season tickets by the fact that they are paid for before the start of the season gives a club a healthy advance on their future gate receipts and allows them to bank that money and assist with the day to day running of the club at times when the other revenue streams are limited. That said when the season starts and if the attendances are as per last season and the only difference is a greater number have decided to choose their games instead of purchasing a season ticket then more money will actually be taken at the turnstiles on a matchday or in advance ticket sales.

Interestingly enough the home friendly v Coventry City and then the first home league game v Kilmarnock will give us pointers to firstly what the general mood is towards ICT this season and secondly whether there is any sign of an attendance surge post-newco fiasco.

Having said all that if we come out of the blocks playing attractive free-flowing high scoring football then the attendances will go up irrespective of whatever external factors are in play.

Anyhow not really that long to wait now until it is clear which way it will go....

[Libero]

Havent been to any pre-season games this season so hopefully the Coventry game will show what we can expect from the team

Would love to see an attacking, free flowing game and i genuinely think if more teams were to adopt an entertaining style of football then attendances would definitely benefit

Interesting to hear someone mention Pele earlier, games were full of drama and entertainment back then. The old school of thought that 'as long as we score more than you' was a great one IMO

[CaleyD]

All the studies I've seen and discussions I have taken part in show that what happens on the pitch comes way down the list of factors which effect a persons decision to attend a football match. Results/Style of play tend to be just an easy excuse for those who find the overall football** experience far less enjoyable.

What clubs need to do is to drill down into things a bit more to get to the bottom of it as it will be slightly different for different clubs. What we as fans can do to help with that is to take a look at our own interactions with out clubs and be more specific about what "turns us off"...and communicate that via constructive criticism and offer up ideas as to what could be done to improve it. That way clubs don't have to try and be mind-readers and it forces them to think about investing in changes off the pitch as well as on it.

[givmeaccccc]

Poor value for money, that's the real reason that season tickets sales have dived. Last season was dire. As I said in a previous post I have two tickets but my wife hardly goes now because there is no entertainment. I could name you at least 6 people who like me have two tickets who are 'going it alone'! The next step is we get shot of a ticket.

We have just got rid of our two top scorers from last season and not replaced either of them so what are we to think? Where are the goals going to come from this season. Guess what Mr. Cameron and Butcher, that's what we go to games for, to see goals.

[+Tree]

We have just seen our two top scorers move to teams who offered more money and cannot afford to replace these players is surely more accurate.

Now that we have even less money then how do you expect this to get better?

Edited July 18, 2012 by Tree